A study in the journal "JAMA Otolaryngology" tracked 964 kids.

5:09 PM,
Jul. 17, 2013

A new study links cigarette smoking while pregnant to hearing loss in adolescents.

Written by

Lindsay Friedman, USA TODAY

Parents can add hearing loss to the list of bad things tobacco smoke can do to children.

Previously, prenatal smoking has been linked to negative consequences in children of all ages, including premature birth, low weight or underdevelopment and asthma. Now, a connection also has been made between smoking while pregnant and hearing loss in adolescents, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology.

"Cigarette smoking is probably the worst man-made epidemic," says Michael Weitzman, study author and a professor at the New York University School of Medicine. ...